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v onet.

B. A. BAL'LOU.

.Lobe Attachment for Bar Drops.

No. 22'9,080. Patented June 22,1880.

WITNESSES. INVENTCJR} -N.PEIERS, PHOjrmUTMDGRAPNER, WASHINGTON. 0.0.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOBE ATTACHMENT FOR EAR-DROPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,080, dated June 22,1880.

Application filed March 10, 1880. (ModeL) To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, BARTON A. BALLOU, of the city and county of Providence,in the State of Rhode Island, have invented a new andusefullmprovementin Lobe Attachments for Ear- Drops; andIdeclare thefollowing to bea specifioation thereof, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawings.

Like letters indicate like parts.

Figure l is a perspective view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of the same with the parts detached. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionof the ball, showing the tongue in position. I

My invention is an attachment for securing an'ear-drop to the lobe ofthe ear; and it 0011-, sists of a spring-tongue in engagement with ahollow sphere or holding device.

The ear wire or tongueA is slitted at one end, as shown at a, and theprongs are slightly sprung apart in a bow shape, meeting and terminatingin a blunt point. (See Fig. 3.) The opposite end is bent into a loop,I), from which the pendent ornament is hung.

The ball B is a hollow sphere, and is made of sheet metal, or in anyother suitable manner. It has an opening, 0, to receive the tongue A.The tongue A is inserted in front through 1 the puncture in the lobe ofthe ear, and enters the hole 0 of the ball B upon theback of the lobe.In entering the ball the bow-springs are flattened until they pass intothe ball beyond the interior surface of the ball, when they spread apartto their former width. The ball is thus securely fastened upon thetongue and the ear-drop held in place.

Instead of making the tongue with a spring it is obvious that a springmay be placed within the ball to engage by friction with the tongue orby snapping into a slot or depression in the wire. Such an arrangementof the parts would be substantially within my invention.

-I am aware that it is not new to use for this purpose disks heldtogether by a shank fitted with a screw-thread; but

I do claim as a novel and useful invention and desire to secure byLetters Patent The Wire tongue A, slitted and sprung as described, incombination with the hollow ball B, substantially as and for the purposespecified.

BARTON A. BALLOU.

Witnesses:

ALBERT WAGNER, WARREN R. Peace.

